Wanted
by tigerhat
Summary: Lila has just moved to a new town to test out being away from her parents. But she sees a strange shirtless man in the woods who appears to be staring at her. Is it just a hallucination? Or something more?
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

Aro had seen her. In the depths of a particular mind of a certain criminal that he was about to destroy, he saw her. She was beautiful, at least to Aro. Long, chocolate brown hair that cascaded down her back. Petite body. Knowing eyes. A slight smile played on her lips. She was perfect. And she would be his. Finally, he let go of the poor vampire's hand and nodded his head, and justice was served.

Alice gasped. The sight she had witnessed was horrible, the scene clear and precise.

"What'd you see?"

"The Volturi?"

"Are they after us?"

"Are they after Bella?"

Jasper cupped Alice's face in his hands. He searched her eyes for answers.

"What happened honey?"

Alice struggled to find the words. Looking at each of her family members in turn, and finally settling her gaze on Jasper's eyes.

"It was the Volturi," she revealed.

"So they are after-"

"No. Not Bella. Not this time. I-it was Aro. He saw a girl, and I've never seen her before, but he's desperate to have her."

"Why?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm not sure," Alice replied honestly, "He wants to add her to the Volturi. Put her in his ranks with Jane. She apparently possesses qualities that he believes will make the perfect vampire."

All of the Cullens seemed lost in thought. Dumbstruck on what to do, and unsure if this was even their problem. However, there was one question on everyone's mind.

"What qualities?" Bella voiced for them all.

"I don't know," Alice said, slightly defeated, "but she's coming here."


	2. Chapter 2

I've never really been a huge fan of change. I mean who really is anyway? But as far as anxiety towards the different goes, I'm pretty bad.

For as long as I can remember I've had a weak stomach. I used to throw up every day on the way to pre-k, my mom stuffing the glove compartment of her car with zip lock bags so I wouldn't make a mess. As I've gotten older, I've grown a bit stronger. I don't throw up every day on the way to school, but that doesn't mean I've completely lost the old me.

So here I am, zip lock bag in hand, moving somewhere new. By myself. Crazy, I know. But, as I've been telling myself for the past 10 months, this is an opportunity. I wanted to get out on my own before college, to make sure I'd be okay by myself. I planned on getting out of my home state for college, which could be problematic if I have a nervous breakdown and need to run back to mommy and daddy...like a loser. No. I decided I wouldn't need to run home. However, I wasn't quite brave enough to just up and move so finally, and my parents weren't willing to risk the cost of transferring colleges if I needed to go somewhere closer to home. So, we decided to test the waters. I'm spending the first semester of my senior year in Forks, Washington. I chose it because it's across the country from my home, so if I can live this far away, I can go anywhere, and also it's a small town, so I won't feel too overwhelmed. All in all I was looking forward to coming here and proving to myself and my parents that I can do this, I can master my fears. Now, however, with my stomach churning and shaking legs, I don't know why I was so excited to get away from what I'm comfortable with.

STOP LILA. Gosh I could really get myself worked up. This IS going to be good for me. I'm going to learn how to deal with my anxiety. I'm going to grow up. I can't be afraid forever. Only one problem. I actually have to get out of this taxi. Ugh.

BANG BANG

"Ackkkk!"

"Oh sorry miss, I was just wondering if you wanted help with you bags."

A middle aged man in a dark grey t-shirt and jeans frowned worriedly at me, through the window of the taxi. Gosh, I'm such a scaredy-cat sometimes. I opened the door of the taxi and got out to apologize.

"Sorry, I was kind of lost in thought when you knocked on the window, I didn't mean to scream."

He smiled kindly at me. "Do you want help with your bags?" He didn't wait for my answer, however, and started unloading my luggage from the back of the taxi.

"Uhm, thanks," I said uncomfortably, "Do you work here?"

"Yes. I'm the owner. And if there's-"

"Daddy!" A high pitched shriek sounded from behind me. A tall girl with short blonde hair with a read streak down the side skipped up to us.

"Hi darling!" The owner said. "Lila, this is my daughter Tiffany. She's a junior at Forks High School."

"How do you know my-" I started to ask but got cut off by the owner again.

"You are going to Forks High School right?"

"Uhm, yeah, for a semester. But-"

"Well that's great! We'll be lovely friends! I'll give you a tour of the school on the first day! Don't worry, I'll stick to your side like glue! I pinky promise I will never, ever let you get lost!"

And with that Tiffany linked our pinkies together and dragged me away to my room. I never got my answer as to how the owner knew my name without asking me. I'm just going to assume it's a small town thing.

The hotel was small but quaint. It felt like a home and had pink and yellow walls with flowers scattered around. I could definitely pick out a feminine touch, no doubt Tiffany's doing. She dragged me up the stairs to the second floor and to the end of the hallway.

"This is your room!" She exclaimed as she shoved a key into the door and forced it open.

I'll admit, it was very me, and I couldn't stop a smile from forming on my lips. Tiffany, keeping an expecting watch on me, noticed this.

"Oh you like it!" She hugged me.

"Yeah, it's very homey." I mumbled into her hair. She really was very tall, almost 5'10", and she certainly had to bend down to hug my petite, 5'0" body. After a few awkward minutes of this, I fake coughed.

"Well, I'll let you make yourself at home! Call me if you need anything!"

"Thanks, I will." I pressured her with my eyes to leave. But she pressured me with her eyes to ask her to stay. I held my ground. She sighed, waved a hopeful hand in my direction, and left my room. A couple of minutes later her father walked in with my bags. I thanked him and he left, luckily without a hug. Good, it doesn't run in the family.

I took another look around my room. It was small, like the rest of the place, but I'm only one person, how much room could I need? It had a bed, desk, bathroom, couch, television, and refrigerator. All the essentials. I sat down on the bed and looked out the window that was situated next to it. My room was in the back of the building so my window faced the woods, rather than the street. For this I was grateful. I don't know why but for some reason I feel like being positioned near the street raises the chances of a rapist coming in the window. I don't know, just me being paranoid.

Wait what is that? I..I mean huh? Oh my gosh is he okay? I should-!

But then he was gone. A strange man was just standing in the woods...shirtless. He seemed to be staring at my window but...I'm just paranoid from my rapist thoughts. As soon as I saw him he fell to his knees, but when I looked at the phone to call someone for help, and then back to the window, he was gone. Was he just a hallucination? No, I don't think I hallucinate. But, what was that? It wasn't even fall yet but it was fairly chilly outside, and certainly not warm enough to go shirtless. That must have been why he fell. But then where did he go? Maybe some friends were with him and they took him away. Oh I don't know, I'm in a new place and this is ridiculous. I shouldn't freak myself out. Breathe. I have nothing to worry about.

It's been a few hours and I need to go to sleep, I have my first day at my new high school tomorrow. But, I just can't stop thinking about that shirtless man. Maybe he was a rapist and he'll climb in my window and rape me! Maybe I was wrong and I need my window to face the street!

These thoughts harassed my mind until sleep wrapped me in it's warm embrace, the days problems gone, all worries forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

Heart beat quickens. Body shifts. Eyelids flutter. Waking up is the strangest experience I go through every day. The transition from my dreams to reality is so slow. When I'm sleeping I lose all my worries, and in the few moments when I've just woken up, my mind is still at peace. But then it all comes flooding back.

That man in the woods! I bolt upright in my bed and look out the window. There's no one there, of course. Why would anyone be there. Well I mean, there was someone there last night. But I'm sure this isn't a normal occurrence.

As I wait for my heart beat to slow down, I take another look around my new room. It's just as perfect as it was last night. From the light green curtains to the wooden floors, it feels like me, and it feels like home. Maybe I could do this living on my own thing. All I have to do is take things one step at a time. The very first step would be today, since today's my first day at Forks High School. Surprisingly enough, I'm able to keep my composure as I get out of bed and start getting ready. My hair looks like a rat's nest, probably since I moved around a lot while I slept last night. I could straighten it...but I want to make an impression. I'll curl it. But which curler do I want to use?!

I've always had a thing for hair. It really is a woman's greatest accessory. And as such I like to play with it, and use it to let people know how I'm feeling. Today I want people to look at me and go "Wow! She's confident!". I finally decide to use my wand curler from Hot Tools and get started with my transformation.

Another thing I've always loved about doing hair is the time it gives me to think. My hair is pretty long, down to my hips, and it'll take a while to curl my whole head. This time serves as a relaxation period, and a moment to prepare myself for the day. I can already feel my nerves fighting to bubble up out of my stomach, but I won't let them. Not today.

After about 45 minutes, my hair is done, and I've only got 15 more minutes until I need to head to the school. There was no way I'd take the bus (can you say awkward social encounters?) so I'd take a taxi until I pick up my rental car after school today. Taxi's are hard to come by in a small town like Forks, but I had called in advance and they had assured me they would be here.

Hair, done. Clothes, on. Makeup, done. Teeth, brushed. Okay. Ready for the day, and I'm going to be fine. I'm on time, I have everything I need. There's no reason to worry.

Yet these thoughts couldn't calm my nerves. As I walked out of my hotel the owner waved to me and I smiled and waved back. I pushed open the door but before I walked outside I heard a voice calling my name.

"Lila! Lila!"

I turned and saw a sprinting Tiffany, her hair in her face and a piece of toast in her mouth.

"I'll take you to school!" she smiled as she took the toast from her mouth and held it in her unoccupied hand.

"Oh you really don't have-" I tried to interject.

"Oh it's no trouble!"

"I have a taxi coming in a few minutes," I gestured out the door, "and I really don't want to make him go back when he's already-"

"Oh nonsense!" She swatted her hand in the air like she was trying to shoo a fly. "It's his job. And no friend of mine will be taking a taxi to school!"

And with that, she grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me to her car. I settled myself in the passenger seat and took a deep breath. I liked to sit quietly when I was nervous. No music, no talking, no nothing. Unfortunately Tiffany didn't get the memo, and she chatted the entire way to school. She talked about her father, how her mother left them when she was 4, life at the hotel, the high school, her friends, the colleges she was applying too. She told me so much that I'm surprised she didn't tell me how many times a day she went to the bathroom. I did feel kind of bad though. She was a very nice girl who offered me a ride to school and let me into her life. But all I could manage was some nodding of the head and a "yeah" to let her know I was still listening. But if she was upset by my lack of communication she didn't show it. A huge grin was plastered on her face for the entire ride. When we finally pulled up to the school and parked, she noticed my mood.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, I just get nervous on first days." I admitted. I don't know why I did. I usually don't tell people when I'm struggling.

She looked at me with sad eyes. But after a second they brightened, and she took my hand.

"You, are going to be great today. And I promise I won't leave you." Surprisingly these words did soothe my stomach. I smiled back at her and we got out of the car.

Forks High School was small. And I mean REALLY small. My old high school had a population of 3,000 kids, whereas this high school has about 350 IN TOTAL. That's it! I guess that means it'll be easy to pick out the new girl, and I can't really decide if that's a good thing.

Tiffany lead me to the home office, where we picked up my schedule and then she guided me to my first class, which unfortunately we didn't have together. Guess I'd have to fend for myself for a while. At the door, we stopped and she waited for a minute, eyes scanning the hallway.

"What're you-?"

"SHHH!" She scolded.

Finally, she found whatever she was looking for, and called out.

"Mike! Mike! Over here!" A tall boy with blonde hair and blue eyes ran over to us. He looked confusedly at Tiffany, and then saw me. His eyes widened and a huge smile appeared on his face. Tiffany took the opportunity to introduce us.

"Mike, this is Lila, she's staying at our hotel. Lila, this is my friend Mike, I believe he has this class first period and he's in your grade!" Mike kept smiling at me and extended his hand excitedly in my direction.

"Lovely to meet you miss Lila"

"And you as well" I smiled back and offered him my hand. But instead of a handshake, he took my hand to his lips, and kissed it. A little shocked, I blushed and pulled my hand away. As soon as I could I turned around and walked into the classroom, Mike following behind me. He took his seat in the middle of the classroom and I waited in the front of the room for the teacher, who didn't appear to be at school yet.

And then I saw them. Two people walked into the room and boy did they look interesting. They appeared to be a couple, since they were holding hands, but they were the strangest couple I've ever seen. The boy was absolutely gorgeous. He had pale skin, auburn hair, and golden eyes. The girl was pale as well, but less beautiful. I just couldn't comprehend how that boy could be so beautiful, and live in Forks. Honestly, he should be modeling in New York or something, not holding the hand of some bland girl at Forks High School. Then again, what do I know about love anyway?

Much to my surprise, they didn't walk right to their seats, and stopped to talk to me.

"Hello," The angelic boy spoke, "I'm Edward and this is Bella." The girl smiled at me from behind the boys back. She stood behind him like he was her protector. Not many high school boys can claim that title.

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Lila" I replied.

Without a moment of hesitation the boy responded, "Would you like to come to my house after school today? I know it can be difficult feeling at home in a new place, and a few other of my family members go here as well. We'd love to spend some time with you."

Now I know that this was probably meant to be a sweet and considerate offer, but it just seemed weird to me. I just told him my name and he wants me to come to his house? And what about this Bella girl holding his hand? Does she mind that he's inviting me to his house?

As if he heard my inner battle he said, "Bella will be joining us as well, we hang out most days anyway."

"Oh, uhm, are you sure?" I asked timidly. I couldn't quite understand why this God-like boy wanted me to come to his house and hang out with him and his girlfriend. However, I wasn't about to pass up a chance to make friends and feel at home.

"Yes, I'm sure. If you meet me outside in the parking lot, I'll take you with us. You don't have a car right?"

"Uhm," I pondered why he would assume that, "no, I don't. But I do need to pick up a rental car after school."

"That's fine, I'll drive you there on the way." He smiled brilliantly down at me, and then walked his girlfriend back to their seat. Well that was strange.

After that the class passed pretty painlessly. The teacher told the class who I was and then seated me next to Mike, who of course, was the only one with an empty seat next to him. He kept staring at me and accidentally bumping his arm into mine. Edward must have noticed this too because he laughed quietly whenever Mike bumped me. The teacher finally stopped lecturing and gave us our homework. While he was passing it out Mike turned to talk to me.

"So, being the new girl and all, I bet you're feeling pretty lonely, huh?"

"Uhm, not really. I haven't really had the opportunity."

His face dropped a little, but he didn't give up. "Well if you need a friend, I'm here for ya!" He slapped me on the back.

Ouch.

"Ha, ha," I fake laughed, "Thanks"

"So, I mean, are you doing anything tonight? Cause we could hang out, I could show you around town, cause you know, as your friend it's my duty to-"

Edward laughed a little too loudly.

"What Cullen?! What? Am I not allowed to talk to the new girl? Gotta take all of them?!" Mike snapped at Edward.

Edward raised his arms above his head, as if to say "don't shoot".

"Actually Mike, I already have plans tonight" Mike's eyes came back to me. "I'm sorry though"

"Oh, it's fine, don't worry about it," he brushed it off.

I looked at him, a little worried that I just shot down at chance at a friend.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" He put his arm around me. "We'll just hang out another time!"

I suppose I should feel happy that people were already fighting over who got to hang out with me, but as I walked out of first period and up to Tiffany, I felt slightly deflated. I didn't like turning people down, but more importantly I didn't like people using me as a chance to win rivalries.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Tiffany walked me to every class and each one was the same thing: see teacher, get introduced, take a seat, zone out. In most of my classes I saw a lot of the same people, what with it being such a small school and all. In my physics class I met Edward's brother and sister, Jasper and Alice, and weirdly enough they already knew I was coming to their house after school. I guess Edward told them in another class. Alice was overly excited to meet me, sort of like Tiffany was, but in more of a knowing way. She just kept smiling at me and repeating "we're going to be great friends!" Yeah it was weird, but I can't say I don't like friendly people. By the end of the day I was in a good mood. I finished my first day, and from here it could only get better. The people here were nice and I'd already made friends.

Walking out to the parking lot, I had a feeling of euphoria. The sun was shining through the clouds and people said goodbye to me as they passed. I couldn't wait to call my parents tonight and tell them what a success this was. I felt like I could see my whole future in front of me. College, on my own, without my parents. A confident Lily walked the campus with her posse laughing around her.

A car horn brought me out of my daydream. Edward and Bella were sitting in a car in front of me, waiting for me to get in. Edward was as breathtaking as the first time I saw him, and I noticed he was holding Bella's hand, his other hand on the steering wheel. Even though she wasn't as beautiful as him, she actually looked like she belonged with him. I opened the door and got into the car, hopefully this would all go well and I'd get to keep these new friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Ever felt like you were in a fish bowl? Well that's how I felt on the drive with Edward and Bella. Watched. They asked limitless questions. Edward asked me things like why I moved here and what kind of activities I'm in to. Bella mostly stayed quiet but did ask me if I had a boyfriend. That question definitely took me off guard. I didn't, but what did it matter to her? Maybe she was worried I'd try to take Edward, even though he's obviously completely in love with her. All in all it felt like an interrogation, and Edward took so many looks at me in the review mirror that by the time we reached the car rental building I thanked God that I could get out of the car.

"Want us to come in with you?" Edward asked, hand on his car door handle.

"No, it's fine. I'll be right out." I tried hard to smile at him as I turned and went inside.

How am I going to survive an entire evening like this? What were we even going to do? If all they planned on doing was asking me questions I would probably jump out a window at some point. Maybe I should have said yes to Mike...

After 10 minutes I was already out with my car. I had hoped I'd have a little more time away from Edward and Bella, but at least I got to drive alone to their house. I pulled up next to them and rolled down my window.

"Just follow me," Edward said, "it's not that far from here."

I nodded and let him pull ahead of me. Forks really was beautiful. The drive showed off the huge green trees and immense forests. Everything was very wet, because it rains nearly every day, but it looked so full of life. I even saw a deer standing on the edge of the forest before the road. I prayed he stayed in there and didn't try to cross the road. People always complain about deer ruining their cars when they jump out, but I feel worse for the deer. We lose a car but they lose their life. It's terrible, and I always wish I could fix it.

Soon enough I found myself pulling into the driveway of the most beautiful house I've ever seen. It had many glass walls and almost everything was white. It was huge, three stories, and gave off this feeling of being in a large, open area, even though I was still surrounded by forest. Again, what was Edward doing here? Him and his big, fancy house should be somewhere else, not here in Forks. It just didn't make sense.

Edward got out of his car and helped Bella out, then came over to my car and helped me out, all before I stopped gaping at his house.

"You like it?" He smirked down at me.

"Uhm, psh, I mean if you like things that are incredibly beautiful and perfect in every way."

He laughed, "Yes, it does take a certain eye to enjoy that sort of thing."

He then proceeded to lead me and Bella up to the front door, which by the way was as magnificent as the rest of the house, and opened it for both of us. This guy was such a gentleman, what the heck? Mr. Perfect can't live in Forks. He just can't. Or else every other love story I've read has lead me astray. Apparently you don't need to travel the world and find your soul mate in Paris or Egypt. Just go to some gloomy small town that nobody knows about, and he'll be there. PSH. Bella's so lucky.

As soon as we walked in we were greeted by the rest of Edward's family. And I mean all of them. They stood waiting, as if in position, for us to come in. Bright, happy smiles on their faces, the picture of perfection. Jesus, what's in the water here?

"Hey Bells!" An extremely large boy jumped up and gave Bella a bear hug. She squealed and Edward glared at him until he put her down.

"And you must be Lila" A friendly looking woman, I'm assuming Edward's mother, said to me.

"It's very nice to meet you," the man next to her, probably Edward's father, said as he extended his hand to me.

He shook my hand and then gestured to his family.

"I'm Carlisle, this is my wife Esme, and our children, Emmett (he motioned to the tall boy that hugged Bella), Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper."

They all smiled and waved at me, and Alice came over to hug me.

"Oh it's just so great to have you here!" She squeaked.

When she walked back into place I noticed someone that Carlisle hadn't introduced. I don't know how I didn't notice him before, he was so different from the rest. He was tall and very tan, not pale like the others. And he wore an expression of shock on his face, rather than the happy smile the others had plastered on.

"Oh, and this," Carlisle gestured to the tan boy, "is Jacob. He's a family friend"

Jacob looked at me and I smiled, but he didn't smile back. He just kept that dumb expression on his face and nodded at me. Okay, as if this situation couldn't get any more uncomfortable. Now we've got an antisocial kid among us. Lots of fun.

"We've got a big dinner planned for tonight," Esme broke the awkward silence, "and since you and Jacob are the guests tonight I will not be allowing you to help! Now come, come!" She waved her family on.

Emmett rolled his eyes and looked like cooking was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

"NOW." Esme glared at him.

"But I wanna stay and watch the-"

"Emmett." Carlisle said at his son. And with that, Emmett started leaving.

Terrified that they were all abandoning me with Jacob so they could go cook, I said "What about Bella? She's a guest too."

Edward laughed, "Bella's practically family at this point." and then they were all gone. Well, all except for Jacob.

Kill me, kill me, kill me. Oh God, this was going to be the most uncomfortable experience of my life. I took a long, deep breath to calm my nerves. Finally, I turned around and was met by a hard chest.

"Ah!" I squeaked. I looked up and the chest belonged to Jacob, who was far too close to me.

"Hi there," I said as I took a step back from him. He didn't say anything back but tilted his head to the side like puppies do when they're curious. What if he's a mute? Oh my God what if he doesn't have a tongue?! I so don't want to see that.

Then he was taking a step towards me again, and I took a step back. He looked hurt by my move but there was no way I was letting him get that close to me again. Personal bubble dude. He kept looking at me, searching with his eyes.

"You're beautiful." He whispered, but I heard it.

"Uh, thanks," I said, confused, "That's very nice of you to say." Gosh this guy was awkward.

Then, too fast for me to make a move, he stepped up to me again and put his hands on either side of my face.

"What're you doing?" I asked, worried. What if he was going to kiss me? Oh my goodness what if he was going to rape me? No wait, that couldn't happen, the Cullens would hear. But he could rape me when I'm on my way home! Oh no, we can't leave at the same time, I have to get home.

I made a move to get out of his grasp but he held on tightly.

"Let me go," I said desperately.

He held me still, looking at me like a blind man who's just gotten his vision back.

I put my hands over his and tried to get them off of me.

"Let me go!" I said louder.

He didn't budge.

"Let me go, NOW!" I screamed. Instantly the Cullens were in the room and Edward took Jacob's hands off of me. Jacob growled at him, yes GROWLED, and glared at Edward like he wanted to kill him. I bolted, straight for the door and I didn't look back. Lucky for me no one came after me and I sped all the way home, not caring if I got pulled over. Maybe then I could spend the night under police watch. I did not want to see that Jacob guy every again. Not being able to get him off me was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. I was completely under his control and I couldn't fight him off. Maybe I should take some self defense classes. But still, he was just too strong for me. I don't like being overpowered.

I lay in bed and thought over ways to get out of that situation if it ever happens again. I could carry pepper spray, but you need to practice that before you use it, and I don't know who I'd be willing to practice it on. Ugh, hopefully I won't see him again and everything can go back to normal. I know one thing's for sure though, I will never go to Edward Cullen's house again.

In the middle of the night I woke up because I had to go to the bathroom. When I came back to bed I looked out the window next to my bed and couldn't believe what I saw. The shirtless man was standing there again! He didn't fall to his knees like last time, but he ran away once I noticed him. I'm not going to be able to sleep the rest of the night.


	5. Chapter 5

Running, jumping, turning, racing. Breathing hard, I look over my shoulder to see if he's still chasing me. I don't see him, but as I look back in front of me, he's instantly there. I run into him and fall down, a scream escaping my lips. He smiles down at me playfully, "You really are beautiful. If only you didn't smell so delectable, maybe I could make you mine." I crawl backwards, away from him, but he grabs my ankle and pulls me back down below him. I lock eyes with him, and he looks like he's trying to do something to me, through his eyes. After a while, he notices that nothing's happening. Just as I wonder what he's going to do he falls down. "What're you doing!" he screams at me. But he's not looking at me. It's as if he's gone blind. I don't know what's going on but he keeps looking around and yelling, arms outstretched to try and find me. I jump up and start running, far, far away from here.

I gasp, sitting up in bed. I haven't had that dream in a while. About a year ago I was attacked, by a strange man who didn't seem to be a man at all. He was ice cold and too strong for me to comprehend. I don't know how I got away from him, but ever since that night I've relived it in my dreams.

I shiver, getting out of my bed to get ready. There's no reason to dwell on the past. As I'm finishing up getting ready, I hear a knock at my door.

"Come in!" I say to whoever's outside the door.

"Good morning!" Tiffany bounces into my room. "Do you need a ride to school again today?"

"Nope," I smile at her, "I got my rental yesterday. And I could give you a ride if you'd like? To repay you for yesterday?"

She looks absolutely ecstatic to spend time with me. "Okay!" She sits down on my bed. "How did you like yesterday? I hope I did an okay job as a tour guide?"

She was really growing on me; how could someone be so nice?

"Yeah it was great! But the end of my day was really strange."

"Why, what happened?" She scooted to the edge of the bed as if it would help her hear my story better.

"Well I went to the Cullen's house and met this boy who like grabbed me and wouldn't let me go."

"What!" her eyes widened. "Was it a Cullen?"

"No, he was a friend, his name was Jacob."

"Hm," her face dropped, "I don't know anyone named Jacob. He must be from the reservation."

I shrugged my shoulders. I had absolutely no clue where he was from.

"Well did he hurt you?" She scanned my body, eyes terrified that she'd find some kind of battle wound.

"No, I'm fine." I comforted her, "Edward pulled him off me."

"Oh, Edward." Her face turned into this goofy smile. "That boy's absolutely wonderful. Is there anything he can't do?"

I laughed, "He is something, isn't he?"

She giggled back at me, "I'm surprised he wasn't the one getting raped!"

"Yeah! He could probably turn anyone!"

Our laughter was interrupted by Tiffany's father calling from downstairs.

"Girls! Better get going if you don't wanna be late for school!"

I finished with my makeup and we walked downstairs, a smile painted happily on my face. Tiffany's sunshine was starting to spread to me, and I did always like the sun, so why fight it?

My smile vanished from my face as soon as we stepped outside. Jacob stood in front of us, obviously waiting for me, as he made a move to start walking towards me.

"Don't." I said at him and I put a hand up towards him. Tiffany looked at me and then at Jacob. She gave me a look that told me she knew who this was.

"If you don't leave the premises this instant I will call the police." She said sternly at him. Go Tiffany! Who knew she could take charge? But he never looked at her, he just stared at me with pleading eyes.

"If you'll just give me a second-" he said to me.

"No." I refused him and started to walk away but he blurted out, "I'm really sorry about last night. I wasn't thinking straight and I shouldn't have done what I did. I didn't listen to you and your wishes, and I hate myself for that. To be honest I was so lost in my own world I didn't really hear you, but that's still no excuse. Please, don't be mad at me, I'm so, so sorry. I promise it will never happen again!"

Wow he really cared about this. He was getting all worked up. Tiffany certainly believed him, her face had turned to the way it looked when we talked about Edward. I guess she thought Jacob was just as perfect. Well good for Tiffany, but I'm not going to let this guy near me again. Still, I always forgive, it's my moral policy.

"Thank you for your apology," I said politely, "and I forgive you. Now if you'll excuse us-" I grabbed Tiffany's arm and we started walking towards my car.

"Hey!" Jacob touched my arm and I turned around to glare at him. He instantly let go, an ashamed look on his face. He stared at the ground and then looked back up at me, obviously nervous to say what he wanted.

"I thought I could maybe give you a ride to school today? To say sorry for last night?" He gestured towards a motorcycle that was parked across from the hotel. It was beautiful, and I've got to be honest, I've always wanted to ride a motorcycle. Wind in my hair and the feeling of freedom, but I didn't want to experience that with Jacob.

Jacob, however, noticed the wanting look cross my face. He perked up and jumped over to the bike, pulling out a helmet, and came back over to me.

"Oh, no, you really don't have t-" I tried to stop him, but he placed the helmet on my head and slowly clasped the latch together under my chin, seemingly enjoying an excuse to touch me.

"You want to," he smirked at me cockily, "I can tell."

Wow, where did the confidence suddenly come from?

"Well, yeah, I want to ride a motorcycle, but not with YOU." I said at him cruelly, trying to wipe that stupid smile off his face. But as soon as I did I felt horrible. His smile did disappear, but I hated the look of devastation that replaced it.

"Oh," he said and came over to take the helmet off, "I'll just-"

"No!" I said quickly, trying to take back what I did. "What I meant was, I can't ride with you because I promised Tiffany a ride." I gesture over to Tiffany and she looks at me like I just said the craziest thing in the world.

"I have my own car Lila, I'll take myself." And then she started to walk away, but I ran to her, desperate.

"What are you doing?! You can't leave me alone with him!" I whisper yelled at her.

"Calm down," She smiled at me, "he seems harmless, and he's really cute!"

"But!"

"I want all the details when we get to school!" She said and then ran over to her car.

Slowly, slightly terrified, I walked back to Jacob, who was grinning again.

"Does this mean you're coming with me?"

"I guess it does," I pushed a piece of hair out of my face, "Uhm, won't this make you late for school though?"

"No, school on the reservation starts a little later."

"Oh." I said simply. And then there was an awkward silence. He looked at me for a moment longer and then jumped onto the bike.

"Hop on!" he said, a small smile on his lips.

"What about your helmet?" I wondered.

"Oh, I don't wear one."

"But if we crash you could get hurt."

He smiled even more at the mention of me worrying about him getting injured.

"We won't crash."

I crossed my arms, "Then why the heck am I wearing one?"

He laughed, "I wanted you to feel safe."

"Well I don't need this" I said as I took the helmet off and handed it back to him.

"Oh I didn't know I had a rebel rouser on board!" He laughed at me and put the helmet away. I climbed onto the bike and realized I'd have to hold onto him the entire way to school. Gosh how am I going to do this?

"Hang on" he said to me as he started the bike with a loud roar and I didn't hesitate to take my arms and put them around his waist, hugging him to me. Even if I was excited to ride a motorcycle I was still scared, so I buried my face in Jacob's shoulder and held on a little more tightly than I should have, but Jacob didn't say anything as he started to move the bike.

Before I knew it we were out on the road and going fairly fast. I picked my face up and a rush of air met my skin. We turned through a curve in the road and I giggled, causing Jacob to look back at me.

"This is awesome!" I grinned at him.

"Then let's speed her up!" And then he sped the bike up really fast and popped a wheelie. I screamed and clutched onto Jacob for dear life. It was terrifying, but so much fun I can't believe I hadn't gotten the chance to try this before.

By the time we got to school me and Jacob were laughing our heads off and having the time of our lives. Honestly, I'm buying myself a motorcycle, that was the coolest thing ever. Jacob pulled up to the school and I hopped off the back, only to be met with Jacob's laughing face again.

"What're you laughing at now?" I smiled at him quizzically.

"You're hair!" He laughed and started combing his fingers through my hair to flatten it down. I guess it was more than a little windblown. He kept stroking my hair and I looked at him. He was beautiful. His tan skin flawless, his cheeks flushed slightly in excitement. After a moment we both seemed to realize he was holding my head the same way he was the other night and he took his hands off my head and met my eyes.

"Well, I hope you're a little bit closer to liking me now?" He said hopefully.

"Mmm, I don't know, I might need a few more rides before I get to that point" I tease him.

He smiles brightly at me and then stands in front of me as if he doesn't know what to do next.

"What?" I ask.

"I..." he seems to not want to tell me, "I'm not really sure how to say goodbye to you if I can't touch you."

I laugh, he's restricting himself so much today. I open my arms, "You may hug the queen!" I proclaim.

He beams and rather than just hug me he picks me up and twirls me around. I laugh again and cling to him, afraid to fall. He looks up at me thoughtfully.

"I meant what I said you know."

My face scrunches up in confusion. "About what?"

"You're beautiful." He breathes out. And then sets me down.

A little uncomfortable, I start to say "Thanks, but I'm not really-"

He puts a finger to his lips, and I'm quiet.

"Beautiful." He repeats. "Always." He smiles at me again and then drives off, leaving me there to wonder why he has thought so much of me since the very first time he saw me.


	6. Chapter 6

_Thank you to anyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, etc._

_It means a lot to me :)_

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me now!" Tiffany jumped up and down in my face as soon as she met me outside the school.

"It was fun. Really fun actually. I might just buy a motorcycle myself." I told her as we pushed open the doors to the school.

"Oh come on, I saw you guys pull up."

"So?"

"Oh don't play that game with me." She rolled her eyes. "You were both smiling at each other like goofballs and he fixed your hair. And that hug! Oh don't even get me started! Not to mention you had to hold onto him the entire way here. So I want details girl, tell me everything!"

"Oh." I wasn't really sure how to answer. I didn't know she saw all of that. "Well you pretty much saw everything anyway. I did hold onto him the whole way but that was it. There isn't much more to tell you."

Her face fell as she realized nothing magical happened on my ride to school.

"No lovey dovey talk?"

"Nope."

"No fairytale ending?"

"I don't think so."

"Poo." She frowned as we reached my first class. "Well then we'll just have to make sure you get a fairytale ending next time you see him!"

"No Tiffany, that's not something I ne-"

"Hey Lila!" Mike sprinted down the hallway to us.

"Oh hey Mike." I greeted.

"That's a pretty shirt," Mike complimented me, "it goes well with your eyes."

"Thanks." I said awkwardly, not really sure what the correct response was. I could feel my cheeks blush a little like they always do when I'm complimented.

Tiffany looked at me as if she understood something, and I threw her a questioning look right back. Why was she looking at me like that?

"I'd better get going guys, don't wanna be late for Trig." She winked at me and then was gone. I guess whatever she was thinking, she'll tell me later.

Mike chattered to me as we walked into class but I didn't pay much attention. Edward and Bella were looking at me. Clearly they wanted to talk to me, and why wouldn't they after what happened yesterday? I just hadn't thought about what I was going to say to them.

All of a sudden I was grateful for Mike's endless stream of things to say. Edward never got a chance to speak. After a few minutes of worrying, I calmed down and listened to Mike.

"And Port Angeles is really nice, you know? Like there's things both guys and girls will like to do, so it's great to go with a group. We could go shopping, if you like shopping? Or hiking, if you like the outdoors? Or there's the beach and the movies, golfing, art shows-"

"Art shows?" I asked, interested.

Mike perked up, seeing that I was excited by what he was talking about. "Yeah! Do you like art?"

"Yeah, I'm not into the whole abstract thing, but I like most other kinds of work."

"Well then you should come! On Saturday!" Then noticing my confused look, "To Port Angeles...with me, Angela, Eric, and Jessica? ...Do you want to?"

To tell you the truth I did. It sounded like fun, and I could see art.

"Sure." I smiled at him, and he grinned back at me.

"H-Hem!" Edward interjected and Mike and I whipped around to glare at him. That was so rude.

"Sorry," Edward's face softened, "I wasn't really sure how to interject."

"Well you could have just waited until she was done talking to me." Mike said coldly.

"I'm sorry, are you done speaking with Mike?" Edward looked to me.

"No." And then I turned back to Mike, "So tell me more about Port Angeles."

Mike continued to tell me about all that there was to do in Port Angeles until the teacher put on a video and gave us a worksheet to copy as we watched. I've always hated these things. I would enjoy being able to just focus on the movie without having to worry about what the next question is. Like I get the theory of the worksheet, to make sure kids watch the video, but it really just ruins my video watching experience if you ask me.

My thoughts were interrupted by Edward grabbing my seat and pulling me over to where he and Bella sat. You would think the chair would make noise as it moved across the floor, but Edward somehow managed to keep it silent as he forced me into their space.

"What?" I asked, a little annoyed that I was literally dragged over here.

"I'm so sorry about what happened last night" Edward said.

"And Jacob," Bella sighed, "He was just a little overexcited."

"But we know you two made amends today." Edward smiled coyly. "Looked like you two were really hitting it off."

"Uhm, sorta." I said completely out of my comfort zone. It was one thing to talk to Tiffany about Jacob, but I didn't want to discuss this with Edward and Bella. They were acting like excited mommy and daddy who couldn't stop butting into their kids lives.

"You should come over again and then you two could-"

"No!" I said almost loud enough for the teacher to hear. Mike turned around and I nodded to him to let him know everything was fine.

"No thank you," I said again, "but it didn't really go so well last time."

"Jacob will be better this time." Edward promised me.

"I'm sure he would be, but I'd just rather not, if you don't mind."

They both seemed deflated and searching for answers. While they were thinking I took the opportunity to scoot my chair back over to Mike.

"Everything okay?" Mike asked me. "Cullen's not bothering you is he?"

"No," I smiled weakly at him, "everything's alright."

The rest of the week passed pretty painlessly. Mike and I talked a lot in class and I sat with him and his friends at lunch, which just so happened to include Bella, Edward, Alice, and Jasper. They didn't bother me much though, and I was glad. Everyone else was really enjoyable. Jessica was a lot like me and we talked all about the latest fashion and celebrity gossip, while Angela was more shy so I just asked her questions about her camera and what books she likes to read. Turns out she's a huge Potter fan just like myself. Eric was an oddball but I could tell he really loved Angela and that warmed my heart. She's a good person and she deserves someone who appreciates her.

Tiffany never told me what was on her mind when she gave me that look, but I forgot it pretty quickly. We took turns driving each other to school and then after school we did homework together while she told me all about this boy in her grade who wrote her a love note and gave her a rose. I couldn't tell if she really liked him or just liked the attention, but I was thrilled that it made her happy so I didn't look into it much.

Before I knew it I had made it through the entire first week. I hadn't had an anxiety problem and I knew it could only get better from here. I called my parents every night to update them on how I was doing and we've come to the conclusion that I can go to any college in the world now that I know I'll be alright on my own. I feel so free, and so brave, but also normal. I can be just like all the other kids and chase my dreams wherever they take me because I don't have to go cry to my mother every time I get scared. I feel wonderful and I feel invincible.

By the time Saturday rolled around I couldn't wait to go to Port Angeles with everyone. They picked me up at five and when I came out of the hotel they were all yelling from the car at me and the boys were wolf whistling. I laughed and struck a pose, earning myself a "work it girl!" from Jessica in the back seat.

"So I said, ain't nobody got time for that! And I left!" Mike had everyone laughing at his story of when his boss told him to work overtime and miss junior prom. We were clutching at our stomachs and Jessica actually fell down when she stepped out of the car. The drive to Port Angeles was nice and I quickly grew close to this group of people I met just a week ago. In school, they were fun to be around, but outside of school they were hilarious and my face was starting to hurt from smiling so much.

"So," Eric said as we stood in a circle and waited for our next destination, "where do we wanna go first?"

"Shopping!" Jessica exclaimed. "Let's go shopping first!"

The boys rolled their eyes and nodded.

Mike threw his hands in the air, "Shopping it is!" Then, pointing at Jessica, "But second, we go bowling!"

"Aw, Mike! You know I hate bowling!" Jessica whined back.

"That's just cause you can't take the heat." Eric threw in her face and then he and Mike high fived and skipped ahead together, causing me and Angela to burst into more fits of laughter.

"They're fools!" I laughed out at the two of them.

"That's why we love them." Angela smiled, "I don't know what I'd do without them."

"Probably get more shopping done." Jessica said bitterly.

I threw my arm around her, "Awwww, Jess, can't take the heat?"

"HA!" She pushed my arm off. "I'm going to dominate all of you! Get ready to feel my wrath!"

"So," Angela said to me when Jessica was in the changing room at some store and we waited outside for her, "you're really only going to be here a semester?"

"Yeah," I sighed, "just to make sure I'm okay living on my own."

"That's and interesting way to test it." She looked at me thoughtfully. "Most kids just do it."

"I know." I thought over whether or not to tell her the whole truth, but in the end decided it was the right choice. "I have anxiety problems, like I get all worked up over stuff that most people can deal with. I didn't want to find out I wasn't strong enough to live on my own and throw away all the college tuition money."

Angela nodded her head, understanding. "Well I'm glad you're here. And it seems like you're doing alright?"

"Yeah. I'm actually doing really well; I think I'll be able to go to any college I want."

"Well I'M going to California!" Jessica burst out of the dressing room. "The sun, the beaches, the boys! Oh can't you just see me there?!"

"I'd like to see you in the bowling alley, getting your ass whipped." Mike chimed in as he and Eric walked in from sitting on the bench outside. "Can we go now?"

"Ugh, fine." Jessica groaned and we all headed off to the bowling alley.

I have absolutely no idea why Mike and Eric were acting like they could bowl. Let me tell you, they were horrendous. Mike usually got a gutter ball and Eric actually slipped and fell with the ball landing on his chest so that Angela had to help him recover. They didn't let it get them down, however. They were goofing off and acting like they were professional bowlers. Mike even took out two pairs of gloves for them to wear that they flaunted in our faces. I laughed like a hyena when Mike actually got a strike and the two of them did this victory dance that involved chest bumps and twerking. I did alright in the game but as it went on I started to feel sick to my stomach and wasn't really having a good time anymore.

"Are you alright Lila?" Angela asked when she noticed my face, which was most likely green.

I shook my head, "No, not really."

Everyone, including Jessica who had just been yelling at Mike that he should let women win, came over to see if I was alright.

"What are you feeling?"

"Do you want to go home?"

"Should we get you some sort of medicine?"

"No no no," I waved them off with my hand, "I'm alright."

"We should get you home." Mike said.

"I wanted to see the art." I pouted at him.

He chuckled, "We'll see the art next time." And then we all started taking off our shoes and heading out.

The ride home made me feel worse, probably because I get car sick. Eric drove so Mike sat in the back with me and Jessica. I ended up with my head on Mike's lap as he stroked my hair. The ride home was so silent, and I felt horrible about ruining everyone's good time. On the other hand, they were turning out to be the most amazing friends I've ever had. They were fun to be around but when needed, they could be serious and caring. When Mike stopped stroking my hair he used his hand to hold mine and I felt a little better, knowing he, and all these other wonderful people, cared about what happened to me.

When we got to my hotel Mike and Jessica helped me out of the car.

"Want me to stay with you?" Mike asked, worry all over his face because he knew I lived alone here.

"No," I tried to smile at him, "Tiffany will help me if I really need something."

"Call me tomorrow okay?" Jessica said and I nodded. She came over and hugged me.

"Goodnight," She said as she pulled away, "drink lots of fluids!"

I laughed, "Alright, whatever you say."

Then they all piled into the car and waved goodbye to me. I went into the hotel and trudged up the stairs to my floor. Just then Tiffany came out of her room, "Hey, how're you!?"

I waved her off, not wanting to talk.

"I bet you were with Mike weren't you?" She said with a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah, I was, now I'm not feeling well and going to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow alright?"

"What? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered as I unlocked my door and went inside to my sanctuary.

The minute I was in I went to my bed. I fell onto it and instantly was unconscious.

I woke up a little in the middle of the night because I felt something on my legs. I opened my eyes and saw someone trying to take off my pants.

"He-hey." I said weakly, and tried to swat them away, but I was too tired to move and I fell back asleep.

I woke up slightly again when someone put a thermometer in my mouth, and then all I knew was warmth and sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Sunlight. That' what caused my eyes to finally flutter open after I crashed last night. The warming rays hit my eyes and made me squint to see where I was. I felt so groggy I could barely remember last night, and my head felt like a brick as I tried to lift it. Something was on my waist, keeping me in place. An arm? I looked up and realized my head was laying on a shoulder. And that shoulder belonged to Jacob.

"Ack!" I screamed as I jumped out of bed, only to fall on the floor out of weakness.

Jacob bolted out of my bed and to my side, trying to help me up.

"Don't touch me!" I warned. "Don't touch me ever!"

"I'm sorry," he tried to calm me down, "you were sick."

"So you slept with me?!" I looked at him, wondering how he could be normal one day and completely insane the next. All he did was blush and open his mouth like he wanted to say something, but couldn't seem to form words.

I looked down at my clothes. I was in my pajamas, but I don't remember putting them on.

"Did you change my clothes?!"

Again, he blushed. "You wouldn't have been comfortable if you slept in jeans."

I groaned and put my head in my hands. I can't believe this. First he grabbed me and wouldn't let me go, now he's changing my clothes and sleeping with me without permission. This kid just wasn't getting the space thing.

I felt warm hands cover my own and take them from my face.

"I'm sorry Lila, I can see why you'd be upset," I scoffed at his remark but he kept going, "but you have a really high fever, and should stay in bed today."

"Psh, that's ridiculous! I'm fine!" I started to get up, and managed to walk a whole step, but then started to fall again. Fortunately for me, Mr. "I don't understand how to be a normal person" was there to catch me.

"No. You're not" he smiled down to me. And then he put an arm underneath my knees and swooped me up into his arms, earning a squeal from me.

"You know, you squeal a lot." He chuckled.

"You know, you surprise me a lot." I retorted, but only received another chuckle from him. He placed me in the bed, but this time, he stayed out of it. I was glad, maybe he has some sort of understanding of boundaries, but the minute he let go of me, I realized how cold I was.

"You're shivering, you're cold." He stated.

"No shit Sherlock, that's what happens when you're sick."

He smirked a little, but looked worried for me.

"Do you...do you want another blanket or something?" He looked around my room. I had one blanket that was already on my bed but no others.

"I don't have any other blankets." I said but I was already starting to doze off again.

* * *

Running, jumping, turning, racing. Breathing hard, I look over my shoulder to see if he's still chasing me. I don't see him, but as I look back in front of me, he's instantly there. I run into him and fall down, a scream escaping my lips. He smiles down at me playfully, "You really are beautiful. If only you didn't smell so delectable, maybe I could make you mine." I crawl backwards, away from him, but he grabs my ankle and pulls me back down below him. I lock eyes with him, and he looks like he's trying to do something to me, through his eyes. After a while, he notices that nothing's happening. Just as I wonder what he's going to do he falls down. "What're you doing!" he screams at me. But he's not looking at me. It's as if he's gone blind. I don't know what's going on but he keeps looking around and yelling, arms outstretched to try and find me. I jump up and start running, far, far away from here.

Gasping, I wake up from my reoccurring nightmare. Normally I would suffer through this myself, I don't like disturbing anyone, but Jacob's holding me again, and I meet his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asks quietly.

I can't help it, I need a friend, so I bury my head in his chest in an effort to calm down. I'm shaking, and I know he can feel it. He holds me tightly and strokes my hair, gently pulling out any knots in it. I realize how warm he is, and I mean really, really warm. Although I guess I just feel extra cold from my illness. He starts to hum, and the humming slowly turns into quiet singing. At first I can't understand what it is, but then I realize it's "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles. He voice is a little gruff but it comes out beautiful and the combination of his singing and the embrace slowly start to calm me down.

"What'd you dream about?" He asks me carefully.

"It was just a nightmare." I mumble into his chest.

"I know that, but what about?"

"It was just a nightmare." I repeat. I don't want to tell him about my dream, or my near death experience. I had just calmed down, there was no need to get myself worked up again. Thankfully, Jacob didn't press the subject, and continued to caress my hair. I opened my eyes and for the first time realized I wasn't just looking at Jacob's chest, I was looking at Jacob's _bare_ chest. Freaked out, and reminded of the shirtless man who stood outside my window, I pulled back.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"

He brushed a hand through his hair and looked uncomfortable.

"Uh, I get hot." Yeah, I can see that oven boy.

"Well, can you put one on please?"

He sighed, "I...I don't really have one."

"You don't OWN a shirt? That's ridiculous. I saw you in one the other day."

"Why do I always get that?" he mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, "I do own a shirt, I just don't have one here."

"Oh. Well why not?"

"I," he looked away from me, shaking his head more, "I was running, when I saw you come into your hotel all sick. I was running, " he met my eyes again, "so I was shirtless."

"You were all sweaty from running and you decided to climb into my bed?"

"No, no, no!" he gasped. "I, uh, took a shower before I got in your bed, I promise!"

"So...you used my shower?" I asked, still uncomfortable with the situation.

"No, I, well." He sighed. "This isn't going so well."

I laughed, "No, definitely not."

He sighed again, and held out his pinky finger in front of me.

"I promise I was clean before I got into your bed, and that my lack of clothing wasn't an attempt to be half naked in bed with you."

I rolled my eyes, but linked my pinky with his. Then he smiled the most amazing smile I've ever seen in my entire life. The sun shone in through my window and lit up his eyes, causing them to sparkle as he looked at our entwined fingers.

Just then, my door swung open and I heard a gasp behind me. I whipped my head around to see Tiffany standing in the doorway with her mouth hanging open.

"Tiffa-" I started.

"Oh my god." She said, staring at me and Jacob, frozen in our little promise.

"Hi Tiffany." Jacob said cautiously, pulling his hand away from mine and sitting up in bed.

"Oh my god." Tiffany said again.

Jacob made a move to get off the bed but Tiffany put her hand up.

"No! Don't get up!" She nearly screamed. "I was just surprised, but I'll leave you two alone now!" And then before either one of us could do anything, she slipped out into the hallway and shut the door behind her.

"Wow." Jacob said when she was gone. "She'd make a great wingman."

I snorted and threw my pillow at him.

"Hey!" He said, throwing the pillow to the side and attacking me with tickles.

"No!" I screamed. "No! I can't do tickling, you have no idea!"

"Well then you should have thought of that before you attacked me!" He said as he blew a raspberry on my stomach and tickled my sides.

"No please!" I giggled and clung to his head. "Please I can't!"

He tried to lift his head up but I held on and as he came up on his knees I hung around his neck, causing him to wrap his arms around me to take some of the weight. We sat there for a moment , looking at each other as I caught my breath from being tickled. Suddenly I felt my head throb again, and I flinched.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jacob said as he lay me down again and I let go of him. "I forgot you weren't feeling well."

"It's okay" I said. "It helps to lay down."

Jacob looked around him from his sitting position on my bed.

"Do you," he looked back at me, "do you want me to stay, or...?"

I looked up at the ceiling. Did I want him to stay? When he first came I didn't, because I wasn't expecting him to be here. But so far he's been tolerable, no, scratch that, enjoyable. And he takes care of me right?

"Can you...stay?" I looked at my sheets, not wanting hear him sigh as I ruined his plans for the day. Instead, he lay down and wrapped his arms around me again.

"It would be my pleasure."

The rest of the day we talked and slept together. I have to admit, it was nice to have someone around when I'm not feeling well. He got me food and drinks, and held me when I was cold. He kept an eye on my temperature and even called a doctor to make sure this wasn't something serious. My head may have hurt but my heart swelled with the joy of a new friend.

"Hey Lila?" He asked as we gazed out the window at the setting sun.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any...special qualities?"

"Huh?" I shifted my head up to look at him. That was a strange question to ask.

"What I mean is, do you have talents?"

"Uhm. Well sorta." I racked my brain for talents. Why was he suddenly interested in what I could or couldn't do? "I can play guitar, and I'm an okay artist? And I'm pretty good at English and History. Not Math though, never Math."

He smiled at me, "you're an artist?"

"Well, no, I mean I'm okay, I'm nothing amazing."

"I'm sure you're wonderful."

I laughed, "Okay Mr. Optimistic."

"Alright Miss Lack of Self Esteem."

I punched him on the arm and he kissed my forehead.

"Why do you act like you've known me your whole life?" I asked, baffled.

He looked down at me and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You took care of me all day," I elaborated, "you cuddle with me, you joke around with me, that's...that's not something you do with a stranger."

"We're not strangers." He said instantly, and I pulled back a little bit.

"Of course we are."

"No. We're not." He insisted. "I know that you love motorcycles, art, and playing guitar. I know that when you're sick, you pretend that you're not. I know that you love all people until they force you not to love them, no matter how strange they are. I know that you're ticklish. I know that you like your personal space but at the same time you like to be held, especially when you've just had a nightmare."

"Those are all things you've learned about me today."

"I know, and already I know so much about you!" He grinned at me. "And there's so much more I want to learn. I love spending time with you and every new thing I learn about you excites me more."

I looked at him incredulously, and he reached up and held my face in his hands, just like the first time we met, only this time, I wasn't afraid.

"That's why we're not strangers. We feel at ease together. Just like friends who've known each other their whole lives. What does it matter how long we've known each other if we make each other happy?"

I shook my head, so confused by his confidence.

"Why do you believe so strongly in this? You don't know me. I could be a horrible person. I could be manipulative and vain. I could take your friendship and give you nothing back."

"You could." He agreed. "But I don't care. You make me happy."

I sat up, officially fed up with his blind optimism.

"Why?"

He sat up too and faced me.

"You just DO."

"That doesn't make sense."

He sighed heavily and flopped back down on the bed, shoving the pillow over his face. I waited patiently to see what he'd do next. When he finally removed the pillow, he didn't look at me, he just stared at the ceiling.

"Why can't people just accept the good things in the world without question? Why is it that when people are given a blessing, or a miracle, they have to ask why and how? Why can't they just say thank you and trust that everything will be alright?"

"The world's scary."

After I said those words I knew I had been saying them to myself for my entire life without knowing it. I was terrified of the world, so much so that I had to come out here and prove I wouldn't have a nervous breakdown if set free in it. I lived by those words and hid from everything and everyone, trying to protect myself from what horrors I might accidentally find.

And then I was in Jacob's arms again, my own arms tucked up against his chest as he pulled me into his lap.

"I will never, ever, hurt you Lila. I promise."

He's been making a lot of promises today.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took so long :/**

**I've been busy with other summer work for school and haven't made this a priority.**

**Any favorites, follows, reviews, etc. encourage me to make it one ;)**

"Lila, wake up Lila." A warm hand cupped my cheek. "It's time to get up for school."

I groaned, not wanting to move, and snuggled into my sheets.

Jacob chuckled, "Come on, you had all of yesterday to be lazy."

"I was sick." I retorted.

"Well, now you've had some time to recoup, and it's time to go to school."

I opened one eye slightly, and saw Jacob smiling above me.

"There we go."

I snapped the eye shut again and pulled the covers over my head.

Jacob sighed, and then I felt a giant weight land on top of me.

"Ow!"

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

I pulled the covers back down to glare at Jacob who was laying perpendicular across my stomach, not bothering to hold up his weight.

"I need to breathe you know."

He rolled onto his back and stretched out, his top half dangling off the bed, like he was content to lie on my stomach forever. I sat up a little, grabbed his legs, and flipped him over backwards onto the floor.

He popped right back up again, a stupid grin on his face as he rested his arms on the side of my bed and looked at me.

"So do you like me yet?"

"Mmmm..." I looked off into space like I was seriously thinking about it. "I mean I'd have to consider..." I put my hand under my chin like "the thinker" to emphasize that I was unsure. "I really don't know if I-"

"Oh come on!" Jacob picked me up quick as lightning and threw me over his shoulder.

"Jake!" I screamed and clawed at his back to make sure I didn't get dropped on my head.

"Say you like me!"

I giggled at his ridiculous antics. "No!"

He jumped up and down and I gripped his sides, trying to contain my laughter.

"Admit that we're friends!"

"NEVER!"

Jacob ran with me, opened the door, and flew down the hallway to the stairs, with me half screaming half laughing all the way.

"Admit it!" He bellowed out as he jumped down the stairs.

"You're ridiculous!"

"But you love me!"

We hit the bottom of the stairs and Jake stopped suddenly, my head being thrown into his back.

"Ouch."

Jacob slid me off his shoulder and on to my feet. Only then did I see what stopped him.

"Alice?" I said, confused.

"May I talk to you for a moment, Lila?" Her high pitched voice rang out.

"Uhm," my much less beautiful voice uttered, "sure." But as I went to move, Jacob grabbed my wrist.

"Let go Jacob."

He didn't let go though, so I took his face with my one hand and made him look me in the eye, raising my eyebrows. He sighed and let go of my wrist.

"What's this about Alice?" I asked once we're in the little lobby area of the hotel.

"Did you sleep with him?"

"What?"

"Did you sleep with Jacob?"

"No? I mean yes, but no." I tried to get out what I meant. "We just slept. I wasn't feeling well and I-"

"You can't spend time with him Lila."

"What?" I stopped her, completely lost. What does it matter to her if I spend time with Jacob? She spends time with Jacob. Supposedly he's a family friend. Maybe she has a crush on him and is jealous? No, that couldn't be. She's with Jasper.

"You can't spend time with Jacob." She repeated. "I-I can't see you when you're-"

"Can't see me?" What in the world did she mean by that? She could spend time with me whenever she wanted to. Jacob wasn't stopping her from doing that.

"No, I mean I-"

"Alice!" Edward came running in, Bella in tow.

"Edward I had to-"

"No." Edward said.

"But Edward it's imperative that-"

"No." Edward said defiantly, staring Alice down. "You can't separate-"

"But Edward-"

"No!" Edward looked furious at his sister. I, on the other hand, was completely lost as to what their little argument was about.

"Edward," Alice sighed, " you know I don't want to separate them, but you also know that it's-"

"Separate us?!" Jacob was suddenly in front of me and yelling in Alice's face. "You can't separate us!"

"Jacob." Edward put a hand on Jacob's chest and Jacob growled.

"Jacob you have to calm down so we can discuss what's best for-" Alice started, but Jacob growled again, reaching his arms back and pulling me to him. I didn't like that at all, so I pushed against his back, but he only held me tighter.

"Jacob, stop it you're scaring her." Edward said calmly.

He was scaring me. Terrifying me actually. He knew I didn't like it when he held me against my will and to add to that he was growling and shaking horrendously.

"Jacob please." I squeaked out and put my hand on his shoulder. He instantly stopped shaking and froze in place. Finally, he loosened grip on me and I pushed away from him.

"Maybe it's a good time for you to go to school, Lila." Edward said.

I didn't need telling twice. I ran up the stairs and threw on whatever clothes were closest. I didn't bother doing my hair, I could braid it once I got to school. As I was running out the door, Tiffany called my name, sprinting after me.

"I'll drive!" She said breathlessly.

"Sounds like a plan!" And we jumped into her car.

"So..." Tiffany started once we were on our way.

"I know you want to talk about what you saw yesterday."

"Yeah. But like...I'm just confused."

I sighed. "I know, I know. It doesn't make sense for us to be sleeping together and stuff like that when we just met. And gosh, I was even afraid of the guy a couple weeks ago right? I can see why you'd be-"

"No! Not that." I looked at her, confused. "I...I thought you liked Mike." She stuttered out.

"Ohhhhh." I finally understood. She thought I liked Mike and that's why I was all against being with Jacob. He certainly liked me and we were hanging out, so I could see where she'd get that from.

"I don't like Mike." I informed her. "At least not that way."

"So you like Jacob?"

"Uhm." I hadn't really thought about it. I was too busy being afraid of him first, and then I was too busy learning to be his friend. "I haven't really spent enough time with him to consider it."

"You'll like him." She smiled over at me. "I mean he's built like a God! Have you SEEN those muscles?! Oh, of course you have. You've slept with them around you!"

"Shut up Tiffany!" I shoved her shoulder but she wouldn't stop giggling. "You're just jealous!"

"Hell yeah!" She screamed. "You gotta help me out here Lila, I want a hunk too!"

I snorted, "I'll get right on that."

We looked out at the road in front of us, waiting for breathing to calm down from laughing.

"So," she said after a little while, "you and Jacob didn't...?"

"What? No! Oh gosh no, I'm not like that."

"Okay," she laughed, "I was just wondering."

The moment I walked into first period I knew something was up with Mike. He was sitting on the edge of his seat and was tapping the desk with his fingers frantically.

"Hey, are you alright?" I asked him suspiciously.

"Y-yeah I'm great! Oh here," he pulled out my chair for me and I sat, raising my eyebrow at him.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks for asking." I said politely as I took my stuff out of my bag. What was with him today? Maybe he's on drugs. Aw, I would hate for Mike to be a drug addict. Then his life would be down the drain, and I would be one of his unlucky friends that's stuck with him during the bad years. But, with a little help and perseverance, maybe he could get back on track someday. Is rehab really necessary? Maybe I could create my own rehab. I could come up with some master plan that would fix all the people with addictions and they'd come flocking to my door. I swear I'd be like Jesus I'd help so many broken people. They could call me Mother Lila, like Mother Teresa.

"So...Lila?" Mike interrupted my thoughts. "I know you kind of said no before but," he pulled a rose out of his backpack and held it out for me, "will you go on a date with me?"

Ah. So this was why he was acting weird. Thank goodness it's not drugs. But what was I going to say? Didn't I just tell Tiffany I wasn't interested in Mike? On the other hand, I wasn't dating Jacob, and Mike was a really nice guy. What's the hurt in going on a date?

"Sure," I took the rose from him and smiled, "where are we going?"

Edward coughed, loudly. Mike and I snapped our heads to him. He could be so inconsiderate sometimes.

"What, Cullen?" Mike said angrily.

Edward cleared his throat a little more. "Just got something stuck in my throat, you know."

Our teacher started lecturing then so the boys didn't get a chance to argue about it anymore. I tried to focus on what he was saying but I could feel both of their eyes on me the entire time. I hardly heard him say that we were doing a project, but I definitely heard the class cheer when he said we could pick our own partners.

"Lila!" Bella yelled to me. "Be my partner?" Well I guess Mike hadn't reserved me. I gave him an apologetic look and walked over to Bella.

"What about Edward?"

"I can find someone." And then he stood up and walked to the other side of the room to find a partner. I took his now empty seat.

"Is something wrong between you two?" I asked.

"Oh, no." She shook her head and blinked awkwardly. "I just thought it'd be nice to get to know you a little better."

"Oh," I ran a hand through my hair uncomfortably, "okay then."

I took out a piece of paper to start planning but Bella started a different conversation entirely.

"So you like Mike?"

"Excuse me?" Why did she always seem so interested in who I was or wasn't talking to?

"I-I'm sorry." She stuttered. "But you're going on a date with him? So...so you must like him?"

"Uh, I mean he's a friend." Bella perked up a bit. "And he could be boyfriend material." Her face fell again. "He's nice to me."

The bell rang and I couldn't be more relieved. I just don't understand why everyone is so interested in who I date. It's not like it's a big deal at this age anyway. We're supposed to try everything and see what we like.

I had settled into a routine at school, so now all of my classes bored me. I moved through the day in a bit of a daze, not really paying attention to what anyone was saying, teachers or students. I wondered about Alice, and why she was acting so weird today. She avoided me in the classes we had, and I wasn't about to go up to her and ask what her problem was. My first thought was that she was trying to protect me from Jake; that he really was some kind of rapist like I thought he was the first time I met him. That theory flew out the window when I remembered how kind he had been to me since then. Even with this morning's incident, he was being protective, and listened to me when I told him to stop. I then went back to the idea that she had a thing for him, and was jealous that we spent time together. But I reminded myself, yet again, that she was dating Jasper. She could be unhappy with her relationship, but I just don't see that. My final, and best, reason for Alice's behavior, was that she wasn't jealous of me, but jealous of Jacob. She had said that she didn't get to see me when I was with Jacob. Therefore it had to be that she wanted to spend time with me. I mean she was very excited when she met me, right?

By the time I had gotten to lunch I was satisfied with my justification for Alice's outburst this morning, and I settled into my seat next to Mike with a smile on my face.

"What's got you all smiley?" I looked up to see Jacob and another overly tan boy walking up to our table.

"What are you doing here?" I couldn't help but smile wider and stand up to meet him.

"We're allowed to eat lunch wherever we want, so sometimes we come down here and eat with the pale faces. The cool ones anyway." He playfully punched my arm.

"Oh yeah," the boy who came with him said, "we come here alllllll the time." He gave me a look to say "he's lying" and Jacob elbowed him in the stomach. I put my hand in front of my mouth, trying to hold back a laugh, and turned back to the table with the boys following behind me.

"Hey Jake!" Bella greeted as he sat down next to her.

"Hello Jacob...Seth" Edward said politely to both boys and they nodded back.

I went back to my spot next to Mike and felt overjoyed with my luck. I had such wonderful people around me, I couldn't imagine anywhere else I'd rather be.

"So, Lila," Mike started and I turned my attention to him, "wanna know where we're going for our date?"

Jacob spit out the water he had been drinking onto the table, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Sorry, sorry." He stuttered as he mopped up his mess. "So uhm, where did you say you guys were going?" He looked to Mike.

Mike shuffled uneasily in his seat, clearly upset that our private conversation was forced to be public.

"We're uhm," he looked back to me, "we're going to the carnival. And then we're going to dinner afterwards?"

I opened my mouth to say that it sounded great but Jake beat me to it.

"I love the carnival. I wish I could go too." Jake looked to me like he expected me to invite him, but I don't know why he would expect that. He just heard Mike say it was a date. Why in the world would he voluntarily be a third wheel?

"I love the carnival too Jake!" Jessica said eagerly at him, and he tore his eyes away from me to meet Jessica's.

"Uhm, you do?" Jacob said uneasily.

"Yeah, I do. And you know, I've always wanted to be taken on a date there." She said not so subtly. "I'm really jealous of you Lila." She added on.

Jake scratched his head and looked at Bella, who nodded.

"Well, would you...would you like to go with me then?" Jake asked Jess and I swear I could hear the fireworks going off in her head.

"Of course!" She practically screamed.

"We'll go too." Edward chimed in and put an arm around Bella.

"And us!" Alice squealed and bumped shoulders with Jasper.

"Oh-okay all of you?" Mike said, slightly put off. "That's cool, that's cool. All the Cullens. All coming. On the date. Cool, cool"

This was going to be interesting.


	9. Chapter 9

I kept thinking this date was going to be fun. Or at least that's what I told myself to convince my mind that it was good to go. What started out as just a date I was going on because I could, turned into a first date that was going to be watched and talked about later. First dates were always awkward, but first dates with other people? That's where the anxiety kicked in for me. I didn't want the others seeing me being awkward, or flirty if I decided to be like that. And what if the date wasn't going well? I couldn't come up with an excuse to leave because I'd have other people to worry about and take care of. I didn't want to ruin the night.

On the night of the date, Tiffany came to my room and helped me get ready. I could handle the makeup and hair, but I needed a decision about what outfit to wear.

"That one. That one definitely." She pointed to the sequined top and ripped skinny jeans.

"I was thinking so too." I smiled at her and went back to curling my hair.

"So you're really going on a date with Mike when you don't like him?" She asked me yet again.

"I do too like him."

"As a friend."

"Yeah but," I sighed, "relationships are built on friendships."

"Blah whatever." She groaned as she fell onto my bed.

When 4:00 rolled around I was ready and waiting outside to be picked up. Mike wasn't a minute late and as I jumped into the passenger seat of his car I noticed Jake and Jess in the backseat.

"What're you guys doing here?" I asked them.

"We're coming too, remember?" Jake responded.

"Well, yeah" I said awkwardly, "I just figured we'd all meet there."

"We're meeting the Cullens there." Mike said, eyes focused on the road.

"Oh, well okay."

I thought I'd at least be alone with Mike during the drive, but clearly I was wrong. Mike and Jess seemed ecstatic about the rest of the night, while I was obviously so nervous I was struggling to breathe and Jacob looked like he wanted to punch something.

When we got to the carnival I perked up a bit though. I was actually pretty big. Considering how small Forks is, I wasn't expecting it. I felt lighter and I skipped up to the ticket booth, dragging Mike behind me. I reached for my purse to get money but Mike stopped me and told me he would pay. So chivalry isn't dead? Give this boy a prize.

"Hey guys!" Alice's voice came from our right. She was pulling Jasper along with her, Edward and Bella not far behind.

"Hey!" Jake said excitedly and walked over to meet them. He then proceeded to have a quiet but very heated discussion with Edward and Bella that involved them pushing him back towards us and him struggling to keep talking to them.

Jess and I had a silent conversation with our faces. She raised her eyebrows, I shrugged my shoulders, she mouthed "WTF", I mouthed "Who the hell knows".

When he finally joined us again Mike and I had already bought our tickets and were waiting for the rest of them. Despite Jake's strange behavior, he still paid for Jessica's tickets which earned him a beaming Jess and a kiss on the cheek. He flinched, trying to hide it as soon as it occurred, but I noticed, stifling my laugh behind my hand.

Surprisingly, the rest of the night went well. We rode some rides and played some games. The Cullen's seemed to have remarkable luck when it came to carnival games. Alice won a giant prize for the game where you pick a duck and flip it over to see what kind of prize you won. I had always thought it was impossible, because I always won a small prize. Edward won the basketball game and Jasper won the shooting game. Mike on the other hand, was having no such luck. I could tell he was frustrated after losing for a third time, so I placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He looked at me sadly, and I gave him a smile.

"You don't have to win anything."

"Yeah, but I want to win something for you."

I smiled wider. "I'm just happy that you're here with me." And he finally smiled back at me.

"Okay!" Jacob walked in between us. "My turn."

Jake walked over to the game where you have to use a hammer to hit a lever with enough force to ring a bell. Of course he would pick a strength game, I laughed to myself, he looks like a body builder. Jacob paid the guy working it, picked up the hammer, swung, and hit the lever so hard I'm surprised he didn't break it. Jess and I both stepped back and held our ears when the bell rang because it was so loud.

"Show off." I heard Mike mutter when I had removed my hands from my ears.

Jake won a prize and he chose a gargantuan teddy bear that was bigger than me. He strolled back over to us, a big grin plastered on his face. He walked up to me, like he wanted to hand me the teddy, and I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion. Before anything could be said though, Jessica jumped up to us and grabbed the bear from Jacob, kissing him on the cheek again. She then screamed "Potty break!" and dragged me off to the bathrooms with her.

"Oh my God he's so freakin' adorable!" She squealed once we were inside looking at ourselves in the mirror.

I laughed at her excitement, "Yeah he's quite the catch."

"I'm totally having sex with him tonight. Like, it's happening." She stated as she hugged the teddy bear to her body.

"Uh, Jess it's the first date." Wasn't sex totally out of the question on a first date? I mean I thought kissing on a first date could be questionable.

"I know but he's just so hot! Like, I can tell that he's a great lover. I can see it in his biceps."

"Oh right, biceps. They can really tell you things." I said sarcastically.

She slapped my arm. "I mean it! I'm totally getting some tonight!" And then she walked out of the bathroom with her head held high. I shook my head and followed after her.

After we had seen all the sights at the carnival we journeyed out to dinner together. Edward had mentioned this place that had a dance floor and great DJ. When we got there I was struck by how full of life it was. The music was booming and upbeat, the people sitting at the tables were talking and laughing loudly, and the people dancing were going absolutely nuts.

We sat down in our respective places; I had Jake and Mike on either side of me. Mike put his arm around me and we spent the meal getting to know each other better. I learned that he had a couple of sisters, knew how to juggle, liked to take his dog out jogging with him, and could play the oboe. I talked about meaningless facts as well, and although it wasn't a bad time, I was pretty bored. I did, however, occupy myself through other means. I watched Jessica try and make moves on Jake. She would bat her eyelashes at him like girls do in cartoons and laugh overly loud at anything he said. At one point she slid her hand up his leg and he literally jumped out of his seat and nearly fell on me. I tried so incredibly hard to control my laughter through the meal but it was just so difficult. Jessica was trying every trick she could think of and it was scaring the shit out of Jacob.

"Let's dance!" Alice squealed when we had all finished eating. She grabbed Jasper's hand and lead him onto the dance floor. Edward and Bella followed behind them and started dancing like it was a slow song, even though Pitbull was playing.

Jess jumped up and pulled on Jake's arm.

"Let's go!"

"Uh, no thanks." He stared at the table. "I'm too full."

"Do you wanna dance?" Mike asked me.

I blushed insecurely. "I'm not a good dancer."

"I'll teach you." He said kindly.

I still shook my head. "I'd really rather not, if you don't mind."

"Mike, let's dance!" Jess grabbed Mike's hand and they ran onto the dance floor with everyone else. I slid closer to Jake since it was just the two of us and we looked out at our friends dancing. Jess was putting on quite the show for Jake, but he went back to staring at the table.

"She wants to have sex with you." I giggled at him. "You do know that's what she's doing?"

He looked up at me, a deep blush on his cheeks. "It's the first date."

I laughed more at his discomfort. "Says the boy who slept in my bed a few days after he met me."

I watched as he blushed even more.

"So, are you gettin' it in or what?" I asked, still giggling.

"Stop it Lila, it's not funny." But I just couldn't help myself, I kept giggling.

"Are you gonna make her bed rock Jakey?"

"Stop laughing."

"Let's. Get. Physical." I sang and danced while I kept laughing.

"Stop!" He pulled me into him and started tickling my sides. Of course this only caused me to laugh louder and try and push him away but I decided to keep embarrassing him.

"Get your pickle tickled!"

"Stop!" But I just couldn't.

"Friction in the sheets!"

He slapped a hand over my mouth.

"Hey! You licked me!" He shouted and pulled away.

I smiled at him mischievously.

"What?" He said while he wiped his hand on his pants.

"I knew you could make a sexual innuendo."

He rolled his eyes, "Okay Miss Naughty. I get the picture."

I laughed a little bit more, finally calming down.

"So?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

"So what?"

"You never answered the question."

He looked at me like I was the craziest person on the planet.

"Of course not. Why would I have sex with her?"

"Uh, you're a teenaged boy. She's a pretty girl. She wants to?" I listed.

"Well I don't want to."

"What?"

He sighed. "I want to love a girl, not just make love to her."

I snorted. "What Nicholas Sparks book did you get that out of?"

"Fine, laugh." Jake grumbled and turned away from me.

"Hey, hey, hey." I soothed, afraid that I had actually hurt him. I put my hand on his cheek and made him look at me. "I'm sorry I wasn't taking you seriously. I'm just used to boys, I thought it was funny." He put his hand over mine and stared at me.

"You know, you two make a really cute couple." Our heads snapped to the waitress standing across from us.

"Oh uh," I took my hand away from his cheek and scooted over. "We're not together."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" She apologized. "I just assumed that...well you two certainly looked like...yeah, I'm sorry about that. I'll just take these plates." And then she hurried away, leaving me extremely uncomfortable. I stared down at my lap and bit my lip.

"Hey, hey, hey." Jacob mimicked me and put a hand under my chin to lift my face up. "No need to be embarrassed."

"Well that was fun!" Jess squealed as everyone came back to our table. Jacob let go of me and we scooted apart. Mike slung his arm around me again, breathing heavily from dancing.

After that we paid and everyone said goodbye to the Cullens, Jake, Jess, Mike, and I all pilling into Mike's car. Mike reached out and held my hand while he drove, the other resting peacefully on the wheel. Jessica jumped into Jake's lap in the back seat and she slowly started falling asleep, tracing the tattoo that he had on his arm with her finger. I turned around in my seat and winked at him, but he just rolled his eyes at me.

I was the first one dropped off, and as I got out of the car I wondered if Jessica would be able to convince Jake to have sex with her.

Mike got out as well and walked me up to my room. He leaned down and kissed me quickly, and it was sweet, so I smiled at him and told him I had a great time.

"We'll do this again soon?" He said as he started to walk away.

"Okay." I smiled.

"Goodnight Lila."

"Goodnight Mike." I opened my door and walked inside.

It wasn't that bad of a night. Mike was a perfect gentleman, no matter how boring. I wouldn't mind going out with him again, and the kiss was nice.

I changed into my pajamas and hopped into bed. I didn't quite feel like sleeping yet so I took out my sketchbook and decided to draw. Forty-five minutes later I had a wolf staring at me as I shaded in his eyes, paying attention to the little bits of light reflected in them. I don't know why I started drawing a wolf, they were one of my favorite animals, but I just felt like drawing it.

A noise at my window tore me out of my focus and I looked up to see Jacob.

"What're you doing here?" I asked incredulously as I opened the window and he came in.

"Can't a guy hang out with his friend after the worst date ever?"

"Worst date ever? Wow, I didn't know it was that bad."

He laughed, "Oh you wouldn't believe just how horrible it was."

"Well, why don't you lie down and tell me all about it?" I impersonated Sigmund Freud and gestured to my bed. Jacob laughed at me and lied down like a mental patient, hands resting on his stomach.

"Well it all started when I was born."

I hit his arm and sat down on the bed next to him.

"What did Jessica do?" I couldn't wait to hear what happened.

"Okay, okay," he sighed, "I walked her to her door, like I'm supposed to. But I told her that I didn't want to kiss her."

"What?!" I said, shocked. "You didn't even want to kiss her?"

"Sh. Let me finish." I shut up and waited for the rest. "She said that it was fine. That she totally understood! I was thrilled that she had accepted it and I was going to leave but she told me she had something for me inside."

"Oh, God." I put my face in my hands, wondering how the boy could be so stupid.

"Sh!" He reprimanded again. "So I went in and she brought me to her room. I asked her what it was she wanted to give me but she started kissing me furiously and tried to unbutton my pants and-Lila stop!"

I just couldn't help it. I was rolling around on the bed laughing; the image of Jess trying to take Jake's clothes off while he tried to understand what was going on absolutely killed me. I clutched at my stomach, feeling the pain of laughing too hard.

"Okay," I gasped, "okay, okay. Finish your story."

"Are you going to laugh again?"

"Probably."

Jake sighed.

"Oh, just finish already." I looked at him with wide eyes, ready for more of the story.

"So I kept pushing her off of me, but she kept coming back. I grabbed her wrists and kept her from grabbing me, and then I asked her what she thought she was doing. She said she knew what I really wanted and tried kissing me again but I held her away from me. I told her she needed to get better comprehension skills and then I left. I yelled to Mike that I was gonna run home."

I looked at his frazzled expression and smiled, shaking my head.

"What?"

"You."

"Me, what?" He sat up to look at me.

"You're just so naive."

He smirked, "I think I'd rather be naive than a player."

I threw my hands up, "Hey don't hate the player."

"Hate the game." He finished with a laugh.

"Hey, what's this?" He picked up my sketchbook.

"Oh," I stood up and walked to the fridge, not happy that he was looking at my work, "it's just my sketchbook. Do you want something to drink?"

He didn't answer though, and I turned around to see him smiling at my drawing.

"What?"

"A wolf." He chuckled.

I put my hand on my hip. "You got a problem with wolves?"

"No," he laughed, "no problem. And I'll just have water." he winked.

I turned back around and started getting cups and pouring our drinks. All the while I jabbered on about how I've always loved dogs and huskies were my favorite because they most resembled wolves. I said I liked their fur and how they were the most protective dogs and I had always favored a guard dog over a dog to put in your purse.

When I turned back to the bed I was startled to see that Jake was sound asleep. His light snores barely audible as his chest rose and fell slowly. He looked so peaceful, and so much like an angel that I couldn't believe Jessica tried to corrupt him. Who could possibly ruin this boy's innocence? I thought about waking him up, he wouldn't sleep in my bed again, but he did take care of me right? He had been through a rough night, so now it was my turn to take care of him.

I sat on the bed, pushed him over a little bit so I could fit, and lay down facing him. I kissed his forehead and closed my eyes, promising myself that this wouldn't be a regular thing.


	10. Chapter 10

**WOW!**

**I haven't been on in a couple of days and I come back and BOOM I've got comments!**

**Hahaha thank you to all who commented, I sincerely appreciate it :)**

Did I say this wouldn't be a regular thing? I meant this would happen every day from now on. Every day after that night I would get a tap on my window and Jacob would come spend the night with me. I know that it's ridiculous and shouldn't be happening, and if it were anyone else it wouldn't be. But with Jacob it doesn't feel like I'm doing anything wrong. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way.

"I just don't get it Lila." Tiffany started again as we walked through the hallway at school. "You can't be sleeping with Jacob if you're dating Mike. It's wrong."

"But we really are just sleeping Tiff!" I argue. "It's not a big deal."

"Oh, it's not a big deal?"

"Yeah."

Tiffany scanned the hallway for a moment.

"Mike! Hey Mike!"

"What're you doing?!" I yelled at her.

"Well if it's not a big deal then you can tell Mike." She said with an evil grin on her face.

"What's up girls" Mike said as he threw his arm over my shoulders.

"Lila has something she wants to tell you." Tiffany said happily. "And I'll leave her to it, Ta ta!" And then she skipped off, leaving me with an expectant Mike.

"What is it?" He asked me.

"Uh," I tried to think of something to tell him. "I...have been sleeping really well lately."

Mike's face scrunched up in confusion as he tried to work out why I was telling him this.

"Having _really_ good dreams." I hinted at him. I truly had be having good dreams, just not what I knew Mike would assume they were about.

"Oh have you now?" Mike smiled coyly at me. "Well then my dear Lila, let me walk you in to class." And he bowed and held out his hand for me to take. I felt bad about lying, but I wasn't really lying, if you thought about it.

Mike didn't get the chance to flirt with me much more since I had to work with Bella on our project.

"So are you going out again with Mike?" She asked me.

"I am, actually."

"Good, good. So you like him then? Enough to date him?"

"Uh, yeah." Gosh this girl could be so nosy. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you care?" I tried to say it with as much politeness as I could. Still, she was caught off guard.

"Oh, uhm." She blinked a lot and looked confused. I was starting to get used to this look from her. "Lila can I tell you something without you getting angry?"

"Sure." I said, a little unsure. What exactly was she going to tell me? Oh no, Mike really was on drugs wasn't he? Boy I could really pick them...or rather...he picked me. But let's forget the technicalities.

"I think you should be with Jacob."

I stared at her blankly. I had certainly thought about being interested in Jacob, since Tiffany was so obsessed with the idea. He and I hit it off really well and what girl wouldn't want her boyfriend to be her best friend? But the only way I could justify us doing the things we did was that we weren't dating. As long as we weren't romantically involved he could come see me every night without it being unacceptable. If we were dating then we would have skipped the important awkward beginning and gone right to sleeping over and telling each other everything. I couldn't go that fast, it wasn't okay. So for the sake of keeping what made me happy, I couldn't be with Jake that way. But how could I express all of this to Bella?

I settled for, "Excuse me?"

Bella took a deep breath. "I really think you should be with Jake instead of Mike. Clearly you guys have a connection, whereas you and Mike are formal and well...it's just a high school relationship."

"And, just for argument's sake, what would that make a relationship between me and Jake?"

Bella fingered a miniature wolf that dangled from her bracelet. "Forever."

"What?" I scooted my chair closer to her. Part of me laughed at her; she was just another silly teenaged girl who was convinced romance movies were realistic. However, another part of me was incredibly jealous. I wanted to know how she could be so sure. I wanted to know this wisdom that she supposedly possessed.

"I think what you and Jacob have could last forever." She looked away from the little wolf and up to me.

"How...why?" I stuttered.

She smiled warmly. "It is possible, you know? To find someone who only wants to be with you for the rest of their life. Who makes you laugh and holds you when you need them. The person you loves you not because you're perfect, but because you're perfect to them, in all you're flaws." She was now beaming over at Edward, who was beaming right back. I couldn't help but giggle, they made life seem so simple and happy.

"I want that for you Lila." She looked back at me, nodding. "More importantly though, I want that for Jake. He's my absolute best friend, I know him better than anyone else, and I KNOW you're good for him. I see it in his eyes, he's fulfilled when you're around. Whole, you know?"

"But is he good for me?" I whispered. I couldn't be with someone just because it was helpful for them. A relationship is a two way street.

Before we could talk more the bell rang and I had to continue with my day. On the way to 4th period I was walking with both Mike and Tiffany, and Tiffany decided to check that I had told Mike the truth this morning.

"So Mike," she began, "did Lila tell you what she needed to this morning?"

"Sure did." Mike leaned down and pecked me on the cheek. Tiffany seemed confused, and must have assumed I told him a lie, so she went further.

"She told you about how's she's been sleeping?" She pressed.

"Absolutely." Mike winked at her and I tried incredibly hard not to laugh as Mike kissed me goodbye before going into his 5th period room. Tiffany had this dumb look on her face as she tried to understand his words. Clearly, she thought he was into some sort of kinky stuff and thought me sleeping with Jacob was a good thing. Before she could ask any more questions though I walked into my classroom shouting my goodbye at her as I went.

During class, however, I started to feel guilt. Was it really wrong of me to sleep with Jacob while I was dating Mike? And now I was lying to him about it? Well not really lying, but not telling the truth? Jake was my friend, and I enjoyed his presence while I slept. It was like having a big, warm cuddly bear to sleep cradled in. Not to mention since he's started sleeping with me my nightmare hasn't been occurring as frequently, and if I do have my nightmare, he's there to calm me down. How can that not be good for me!?

Good for me? Oh, no. That's what Bella said. My heartbeat started to pick up as I wondered if my feelings were changing. NO. Absolutely not. I would not ruin this great thing that I have with feelings. And if I have feelings then I'll feel worse about not telling Mike because I won't just be sleeping with my friend Jacob but I'll be sleeping with a boy that I have feelings for! That's completely out of the question and I-

"Hello Lila." My inner battle was interrupted by Edward, standing a few feet in front of me with Bella. I hadn't realized that I had been through all of class and was already out in the hallway walking to lunch. Wow, I must've seemed like a zombie to everyone.

"Oh, hi guys." I said as I walked up to them. There she is, the girl who ruined my peace. Fucking Bella Swan with her stupid "love knowledge". And her fucking "perfect boyfriend with her fucking "happiness". Fuck fuck fuckidy fuck fuck.

"What's up?" I said pleasantly.

Edward burst out laughing at what I said and struggled to control himself. What in the world was so funny about "what's up" ?

"Lunch is outside today." Bella said as she rested a hand on Edward's shoulder and tried to calm him down.

"What? Why is lunch outside?" I hadn't heard about this.

"Yes, well when it's somewhat nice outside the teachers like to let us get some fresh air, since Forks is always so dreary and all." Edward said as he gained his composure.

"Oh?" I said skeptically, raising my eyebrows at them.

"Yes. Follow us." Edward answered automatically and turned around with Bella, walking away. I followed obediently, though still confused. They took me outside, but I didn't see anyone there.

"Guys come on, no one's out here." Obviously they were just playing a joke on me.

"Oh, it's up here." Edward answered as he and Bella started climbing up a hill into the woods.

"You've got to be kidding me." That's ridiculous.

"Come on Lila!" Bella yelled for me and I started after them. We went pretty deep into the woods and I started to question what exactly was going on. They weren't going to kill me were they? Like people did in horror movies? They had taken me to the woods...and I hadn't known them for _that_ long. Suddenly, they stopped.

"We're really sorry Lila, but we lied to you." Bella said.

"Lunch clearly isn't outside today." Edward followed after her.

"Clearly." I said, anger in my voice. What the hell were they doing?

"We didn't want to lie to you," Edward said but I cut him off.

"I don't give a fu-" But then something came out of the darkness of the trees, and it was huge.

"But we heard you liked wolves." Edward finished as a huge wolf emerged from the trees and stood before me. I yelped and jumped back.

"Are you out of your minds?!" I screamed as I backed away more and tripped over a tree root, falling on my butt. The wolf was enormous, literally taller than me. He was probably bigger than a bear.

"He won't hurt you!" Bella exclaimed at me. "We promise!"

Then, as if the wolf wanted to prove what she had said, he started taking steps towards me. I struggled to get up and start backing away again.

"He really won't hurt you, Lila!" Edward pleaded with me. "You don't have to be afraid."

Why should I trust them? Why should I put my life in danger? Oh, I'll tell you why. That wolf was beautiful. The most magnificent creature I had ever seen in my entire life. All I needed were Edward's words telling me to stay, and I stayed rooted in my place, staring at the wolf.

He started moving towards me again, slowly. I wondered if this was how my life would end. "Ignorant Girl Let's Wolf Eat Her" or "Video Games Lead Kids To Crave Violence" could be some of the headlines after my death. Even though I knew he could kill me, my heartbeat started to slow, and I began to want him to come closer.

His giant eyes never left mine as he crept forward. They had a pleading look in them, as if saying "if you just let me come to you, I'll be a good boy". It kind of made me want to laugh, this giant wolf acting like a little puppy that just wanted affection.

The gap between us was closing, and I held my breath and closed my eyes, waiting for whatever would happen next.

A hot wind of air was blown in my face, and I slowly opened my eyes. I was staring at a big wet nose, until the wolf lowered his head and met my eyes again. He then leaned his head down further, waiting for me to pet him.

I breathed out heavily, unable to grasp exactly what was happening. The wolf, on the other hand, was impatient, and he knocked his head into my hip. I squealed and the wolf's body shook like he was laughing at me.

Extremely hesitantly, I raised my hand, and placed it on the top of the wolf's head, right between the ears. I could hear everyone sigh, including the wolf. He leaned into my touch and I started to rub him. I scratched behind his ears and eventually used both my hands. I looked down at his eyes and found that they were closed in pleasure, and I giggled at him. He really was just a giant puppy.

"This is amazing." I muttered to myself.

"It is." Edward said calmly while he put an arm around Bella.

"I mean I had no idea wolves could be like this!"

"Certain wolves, and with certain people." Edward answered me again.

"What, like I'm the freakin' dog whisperer?" I asked, confused by what he had said.

Edward and Bella chuckled, and the wolf's body shook again like he was laughing with them.

"No, no, no." Edward chuckled. "Some wolves form bonds with certain humans, making them a companion for life." He paused for a moment, looking at me and the wolf. "I believe this wolf has that bond with you."

"What?" I exclaimed as I cleared my head, slightly upset that all this stuff was actually happening. More angry at myself, however, for actually believing it. "That's crazy. This is obviously just a really nice wolf. He would act like this to anyone."

Edward walked forward suddenly and the wolf pulled his head out of my arms and growled at Edward, baring his teeth.

Edward laughed, holding up his hands in surrender as he backed up into Bella's arms again.

"See? It's you." He said with a smile on his face.

"That's...no...it doesn't make any sense...why would..." I stuttered out and began backing away again. Wolves don't form bonds with humans. That was silly mumbo jumbo Edward pulled out of his ass. I couldn't handle the situation. I couldn't handle the way the wolf was staring at me, or the way Bella was pleading with me that everything would be alright.

"I-I have to get back to class." I said and I turned to leave but the wolf grabbed my shirt in his teeth and held me there.

I sighed and turned around, the wolf releasing my shirt to let me. I pulled his head down so that he could look me in the eyes.

"Look, Mr. Wolf," Edward chuckled at my words, "I really have to go, okay?"

The wolf whined and pushed his head into my shoulder.

"I'm sorry, but I really really really need to leave." I stepped back slowly, and as soon as I couldn't see any of them anymore I turned around and broke into a full sprint to get back to the school, back to reality.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello friends! Sorry if you got excited that this was an update :/ It's not :( Wah. But yeah, I apologize for taking so long but life got hectic! I got a new job and have all this summer work to do and I'll be traveling to see colleges so AGH! Yeah. Just wanted to let you know I haven't given up on this story but I have some other things that need to get done before I can put my focus back on this. **

** Hopefully you'll hear from me soon! Thanks for reading 3**

**P.S. If you have any ideas about where you'd like this story to go, let me know ;) I haven't been writing this based on any kind of outline or anything so it can go anywhere we want it to :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it took so long! I feel horrible about updating about every week and then all of a sudden stopping. BUT. Life is crazy. Don't really have time to do this right now BUT I'M DOING IT ANYWAY :P I would love reviews 3 Thanks for reading :D**

Edward and Bella are insane.

And I don't mean in the normal, "I'm a teenager and I like doing stupid things" kind of insane.

I mean literally insane.

I'd been going over the incident with the giant wolf in my head a million times in the past week. Clearly, they were trying to get me killed. Or they have some sick need to feel an adrenaline rush.

Yes, alright, I did feel kind of safe while it was happening.

But I blame it on shock.

Afterwards, a whole shit storm of anxiety broke out.

What if the wolf tries to find me now that it has my scent?

What if Edward and Bella think it's okay to do this kind of thing now?

What if all these wolves start showing up at my house because they think I'm the wolf whisperer?

Oh shut up Lila, stop being an idiot. It was weird, but it's over.

Outside of my wandering thoughts toward the wolf, the week passed normally. I went to school with Tiffany, made plans for more dates with Mike, ate lunch with the usual crew, and spent my nights with Jacob.

It was getting harder and harder to be away from Jake. School felt like my own personal prison and I constantly had this tugging feeling, like I needed to be somewhere else, which would only go away when I saw Jacob at night. I could tell he had the same feeling, as we would both exhale upon seeing each other, like we were both holding our breath until then.

"What are we?" Jacob asked on a particular night after we had been enjoying a peaceful silence. I stopped watching Jake's finger twirl a piece of my hair and met his eyes.

"What?"

"What's our relationship? Like, I know you're dating Mike and all, but what are we doing?"

I sat up and turned away from him, both angry and terrified. Would this have to stop? Would I have to admit that this wasn't okay?

"Hey, hey. It's okay." Jacob sat up and whipped a tear ,that I wasn't aware of, from my cheek. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm sorry." I looked him in the eye. "I just don't know what to say. I've been happy like this." I shrugged my shoulders.

He gave me a small smile. "Then we'll keep doing this, if that makes you happy."

I shook my head quickly. "No, no, no. You deserve to have an answer. Don't let me be a bitch."

"What?!" Jake exclaimed. "Why in the world would you call yourself a bitch? You don't know how to answer me."

I sat quietly and didn't look at him. I took in a few breaths, staring at the wall. "I don't want a relationship." I whispered.

Jacob heard me load and clear. He moved closer and leaned his head around to get a look at my face. "But you're with Mike."

"Exactly."

His face showed understanding, and he stopped leaning over and sat up straight again.

"It's simple."

"Uncomplicated." I agreed.

"But you're not _feeling_ anything." Jacob nearly whined. I tucked my hair behind my ear, not answering him, and still not looking at him.

"But you're feeling something for me?" He pressed.

"I don't want to think about it!" I said angrily. He deserved the truth but I didn't want to try and figure out what it was.

He didn't say anything, didn't move; I couldn't even hear him breathing. I turned around slowly, expecting to see a furious Jacob behind me. Instead, I saw him studying me, an intrigued look upon his face.

I sat completely facing him, unsure of what to do. We sat across from each other for a moment, just staring at each other. He smiled at me, and opened his arms, inviting me in. I flinched back a little bit, involuntarily. He laughed, "Come on! I'm not gonna do anything you don't want me to."

I hesitated for a second more, and then crawled into his lap, his awaiting arms holding me tightly. I leaned my head against his chest and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jake."

"Don't be." He leaned his cheek on the top of my head. "Your heart's afraid for its wellbeing."

I laughed lightly and yawned. "You and your lame lines."

And with that I spent another night in Jacob's warm arms.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thought I'd make up for my awfulness(not a word?) by giving TWO chapters! Even thought their both kind of short... Anyway, love you all :)**

"Lila are you alright?" Mike asks me on yet another date where I've zoned out halfway through whatever we're doing.

"Uh, yeah." I look up from my dinner plate and smile at him halfheartedly. Surprisingly, he doesn't see through it.

"Alright sweetie, well I'm gonna head over to the restroom." He stands up and places a kiss on my forehead. "Be right back."

I sigh and look around the restaurant. I suddenly feel too hot and like I can't breathe, and I know that it's a panic attack coming on. I stand up immediately and make my way for the door, not bothering to worry about what will happen when Mike comes back and doesn't know where I am.

I bolt out the door and start running down the sidewalk, looking for somewhere I can sit and calm down, but there are people everywhere. They turn and give me weird looks as I run frantically past them, and head into a dark alleyway.

"Finally." I breathe out. No people. Cold air. I focus on watching the air come out of my mouth and into the cold night.

"Finally." I whip around when I hear a voice from behind me.

A very pale man in a ridiculous looking cape stands in front of me. His features are pronounced, causing him to resemble Edward in a way, though there's something off about him.

I suck in a quick breath when I realize that he more closely resembles my attacker. His piercing red eyes staring hungrily at me. Just then four more cloaked figures drop from the buildings on either side of me and land gracefully in the alleyway. I look around helplessly for a way out, but they've formed a circle around me.

"What do you want?" I choke out.

The first one I saw steps up to me and places an ice cold hand against my cheek. "We know someone who would very much enjoy meeting you." His bell-like voice rings out.

I reach up my arm to slap him away, but his hand is off my face and catching my hand before I can blink. He pulls me towards him forcefully, causing me to fall. He holds me up by my wrist, which is giving me immeasurable pain and I can feel the bone breaking in his grasp.

"Let me go! Please!" I scream, getting my feet under me again to ease the pain, but he's still crushing my wrist in his hand. "Please!" I scream, wondering why none of the civilians I passed earlier are coming to help me.

A flash of brown passes my vision, and then the grip on my wrist is released as I'm thrown backwards. I fall down, hard, but land on my butt so as not to hurt anything. I look up and see a giant wolf, my wolf to be exact, standing in front of me, facing the cloaked men. There are other giant wolves here with mine, all glaring at the cloaked men and baring their teeth. The largest wolf, a jet black one, looks to my wolf and they seem to communicate somehow. My wolf lays down to my level and nudges his nose in the direction of his back.

_Ride_ a wolf? Ride? Really? I don't think so. My wolf growls angrily when I don't comply immediately.

"Okay!" I scamper onto his back and take his fur into my hands to try and steady myself. He looks over his shoulder to make sure I'm on okay and then bolts away into the darkness. I look behind me to see if the cloaked men will try to follow us, but my wolf is so fast that I already can't see them anymore.

The tears finally come, and I lie my head against the wolf's back and hug him to me as he runs, closing my eyes to block out the world.


	14. Chapter 14

**HEY **** Just letting you all know AGAIN that I haven't given up or forgotten! It's been a while… again :/ I'm so sorry **** BUT YEAH LIFE IS STILL CRAZY! I can't wait for my college applications to FINALLY be done. But, hopefully I'll be back on here soon (and regularly). ALSO, I have to create a video submission to get into this one college's film program. It has to be about me, but I CAN'T BE IN IT. So if you have any kind of ideas for that you should TOTALLY LET ME KNOW. **

**Kay love you all **


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